US State Department: North Macedonia has made progress in the media and the judicial system

Published: 14-03-2019, 12:45

The US State Department has published its report on human rights in the world. In its report on North Macedonia, the US State Department says that corruption remains one of the most problematic issues in the country, while progress has been made in the media and judicial system.

A negative assessment has been made about the difficult situation in prisons. According to the report, prisoners are not offered adequate conditions.

The report says that there have been improvements in the judiciary system, but also obstacles such as limited independence of the judiciary system and insufficient funds for the efficiency of this system.

Progress has also been made in the freedom of speech, however there’s still violence and intimidation on journalists.

“The April 17 EC report on the country noted that the ‘climate for media freedom and freedom of expression has improved, with more open political debate and critical media reporting,’ and that there was a “decrease in pressure on journalists. The report noted that media outlets remained largely polarized along political, ethnic, and linguistic lines and that they “are still far from acting independently from political influence”, the US State Department says.